Congratulations to all the schools and students who participated in the DPS Go Green Week Poster Contest!! Students created posters showing how to go green in their schools and homes by Saving Energy, Recycling, Cleaning up their Neighborhoods, Gardening, Walking and Biking. Through their poster drawings and messages, DPS students from Kindergarten through 12th grade showed that they understand how everyday actions can help save the environment and benefit their communities. Each school was allowed a maximum of two submissions per grade level, and a total of 55 posters were received. 8 poster contest winners were selected, two per grade-level from these categories: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. There were three areas of judging criteria: 1.) Concept-Did it communicate a Go Green theme or message? …

The Thespian Club at Keidan Special Education Center used Go Green Week to show off their acting skills by performing the play, “One Breath at a Time.” The script for the play was provided by the Office of Science during a DPS Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS) conference. The staff members of Keidan performed the play for students on Friday, November 30. Principal Adrima Caesar had the lead role and Connie Lung, Speech Therapist, served as co-lead. Fun Keidan Fact: Throughout the school year, students at Keidan work closely with the Greening of Detroit to obtain gardening and harvesting skills. Keidan also partners with Drew Transition Center for special programs.

Over the last nine months the Golightly Education Center Gators have been working hard in the Gator Garden. The 2012 project called the “I’m In the DPS Garden,” was led and created by Allan Cosma, the Academic Engagement Officer at Golightly Education Center. Mr. Cosma designed a comprehension gardening program that infused mathematics, writing, science, healthy living, and entrepreneur skills with the help of Susan Bloodworth, Cheryl Vincent , and Denise Cohen. Thanks to the support of Detroit Public Schools Foundation, Michigan State Extension, 4-H Foundation, Grown in Detroit and Garden Resource Program, twenty students from Golightly Education Center and Blackwell Institute were able to travel to the 4-H Michigan State Extension Community Center garden for six weeks to learn …

During DPS Go Green Week, Donald Carter, DPS Garden Bed Project Supervisor, and Mark Knight, Carpentry Teacher, worked with students from both Randolph Career and Technical Center and Drew Transition Center on constructing raised Garden Beds. As part of the Detroit School Garden Collaborative, sponsored by the DPS Office of School Nutrition, over 40 school sites across the district have raised garden beds, rain water collection systems, gravel walkways and training centers. The goal of the Garden Collaborative program is to increase access to healthy foods for all students, improve nutrition and reduce childhood obesity, increase the nutrient density of school meals and establish school-based gardens.

As part of Detroit Public Schools’ first-ever ‘Go Green Week,’ Drew Transition Center, which serves post-secondary special education students ages 18-26, showcased its outdoor Hoop House and Community Garden, where the students harvest vegetables that are used throughout the year in the school’s cafeteria. Drew students also assisted in a demonstration to parents on how to make a healthy Stoplight Salad, using greens harvested from the Hoop House. Video highlights from the event: About Drew Transition Center The Charles Drew Transition Center is a unique post-secondary vocational center for Moderate and Severely Cognitively Impaired, Visually Impaired, Hearing Impaired, Physically Impaired, Otherwise Health Impaired, and students with Autism. The Transition Center, which serves post-secondary special education students ages 18-26, is a one-of-a-kind …

As part of the Go Green initiative, the Science Olympiad Team and 5th grade class of Clippert Academy created composting bins for Clippert’s two gardens. The project was completed under the direction of teachers Kathy Meloche and Emma Howland-Bolton. The bins were made from recycled tires donated by Armando’s Tires and Mr. Yer Kue, a Clippert staff member. The team filled each tire with newspaper, stacked the tires, then created bottoms and covers for the bins. Worms and food scraps were placed in the bins. The bins will be used to compost the food scraps left-over from the school’s breakfast program. The compost will be used to fertilize and enrich the garden soil. The first batch of compost will be ready in …

During DPS Go Green Week, hundreds of students from schools across the district participated in the 2012 Urban Forest Stewardship Field Trip program at Belle Isle Nature Zoo. From Nov. 19-30, students toured Belle Isle to highlight historic and current uses. The students also visited their own stewardship project sites, which involve shoreline restoration, invasive species removal and trail construction. After lunch each day, the students enjoyed a scavenger hunt at Belle Isle Nature Zoo and an outdoor lesson on identifying winter trees. Several DPS schools have participated in the Urban Forest Stewardship Program Field Trip series including: Cass Technical High School, Dr. Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine, Martin Luther King Jr., Senior High School, Ronald Brown …

Golightly Elementary-Middle School goes green! Preschool students and their middle school colleagues harvested their garden on Thursday, November 29 as part of “Go Green” Week. The students picked dinosaur kale, and made the leaves into Kale chips. Many of the students had never before tried kale and said they enjoyed the hands-on learning using math and science!